RPM Package manager

RPM is a recursive acronym for RPM Package Manager. It is the default package manager in RedHat as well as RedHat based linux distributions like Mandrake. It is very powerful and can be used to install, deinstall, update softwares, as well as a whole lot of other things in linux. Basically, RPM can be divided into 3 main areas of functionality.

1. Packages – Files that are compressed and contain applications, data and other files.
2. Database – A list of installed packages in a system.
3. Compilation – Bundling a bunch of files into a package suitable for installation on other systems.

Here, I will explain a few important RPM commands that are frequently used by linux users.

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Host websites on your local machine using Apache websever

Apache is a popular web server which has grabbed a major slice of the web server market. What is interesting about Apache is its stability and scalability which makes it possible to serve even very high traffic web sites without any hitch. It also helps that it comes with an unbeatable price (free). It is bundled by default with most Linux distributions. And in cases where it is not included in the CD, it is a simple case of downloading the package and installing it.

Here I will explain how one can set up Apache web server to serve ones web pages from your machine.

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Multi booting 100+ OSes on a single machine

When I wrote an article called Effective Partitioning – The how and why of it, many readers had questioned why I installed over 4 OSes on my machine. Now here is a person who has installed 100+, – I am not pulling your leg – the exact number is 110 OSes on his machine.

Now I can understand someone running 4 OSes on ones machine. But what is the use of running over a 100 different OSes ? Perhaps he is a Linux enthusiast who has undertaken this project for his personal satisfaction. But what ever be the case, reading his experiences throws new insights into partitioning ones hard disk(s) to accommodate multiple OSes.

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